Although I agree in principle that Smithsonian should try the most "public"
access in their electronic outreach efforts, the reality is that the
commercial programs currently available are much easier to use that simply
accessing a direct modem connection.  I think I have learned a lot more about
how to access the Internet through AOL, or Prodigy and Compuserve for that
matter, than I have through direct connections.  It's similar to when people
thought computers were difficult because of DOS interfaces, and when Windows
came along, it became a snap.
 
Thus far, what Smithsonian and NMAA in particular have on-line has been
really interesting, and the images I have downloaded have been spectacular.
If you have an opportunity to try, I highly encourage it.  In fact, I
discovered this very discussion list through NMAA's discussion section.  I
don't think I would have discovered it as easily through the "internet".